RES/27/5 The safety of journalists

GE.A/HRC/20/17 and A/HRC/20/22. 4-17781 (E)

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Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

27/5

The safety of journalists

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recalling relevant

international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from

Enforced Disappearance, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the

Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013 on the safety

of journalists and the issue of impunity, and Security Council resolution 1738 (2006) of 23

December 2006 on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,

Recalling also Human Rights Council resolution 21/12 of 27 September 2012 on the

safety of journalists, Council decision 24/116 of 26 September 2013 on a panel discussion

on the safety of journalists, and all other relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human

Rights and the Council, in particular Council resolution 12/16 of 2 October 2009 and all

other resolutions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Council resolution

13/24 of 26 March 2010, on the protection of journalists in situations of armed conflict, and

Council resolution 26/13 of 26 June 2014, on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of

human rights on the Internet,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right

guaranteed to all in accordance with articles 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it

constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic

conditions for its progress and development,

Recalling all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council

with regard to the safety of journalists, in particular the reports of the Special Rapporteur on

the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the

Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, presented to the

Council at its twentieth session,1 and the interactive dialogue thereon,

Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights on good practices on the safety of journalists, submitted

to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session,A/HRC/24/23.

Welcoming the panel discussion of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the

safety of journalists, held on 11 June 2014, and taking note with appreciation of the

summary report of the Office of the High Commissioner thereon, submitted to the Council

at its twenty-seventh session,A/HRC/27/35.

Welcoming also the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists,

Noting with appreciation the international conference on the safety of journalists,

held in Warsaw on 23 and 24 April 2013, and its specific recommendations,

Recognizing that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of

intimidation, harassment and violence,

Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to

the safety of journalists, including through killing, torture, enforced disappearance,

arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of other forms of

violence,

Expressing serious concern at the recent attacks and violence against journalists and

media workers, in particular in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that

journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of

armed conflict shall be considered civilians and shall be protected as such, provided that

they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their

work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach

when considering measures to address the safety of journalists,

Acknowledging also the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of

unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, in violation of

their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,

Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes

one of the main challenges to strengthening the protection of journalists, and emphasizing

that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in

preventing future attacks,

1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and

media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary

detention, and intimidation and harassment in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

2. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against

journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go

unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;

3. Urges States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to

perform their work independently and without undue interference, to prevent attacks and

violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the

conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all

alleged violence against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to

bring perpetrators including, inter alia, those who command, conspire to commit, aid and

abet or cover up such crimes, to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have

access to appropriate remedies;

4. Takes note of the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection

of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights

defenders that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists;

5. Calls upon States to develop and implement strategies for combating

impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate,

good practices such as those identified during the panel discussion held on 11 June 2014

and/or compiled in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights on good practices on the safety of journalists, inter alia:

(a) The creation of special investigative units or independent commissions;

(b) The appointment of a specialized prosecutor;

(c) The adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and

prosecution;

(d) The training of prosecutors and the judiciary regarding the safety of

journalists;

(e) The establishment of information-gathering mechanisms, such as databases,

to permit the gathering of verified information about threats and attacks against journalists;

(f) The establishment of an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give

journalists, when threatened, immediate access to the authorities and protective measures;

6. Emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing

adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to

employees, together with protective equipment, where necessary;

7. Welcomes the proclamation by the General Assembly, in its resolution

68/163, of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against

Journalists;

8. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the

international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with

regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, including with regional organizations, and

invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional

organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the

scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in the implementation of the United Nations

Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end also

calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and

regional human rights mechanisms, and to share information on a voluntary basis on the

status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists;

9. Acknowledges the importance of addressing the issue of the safety of

journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

10. Encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights

mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights

Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their

mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their

work;

11. Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in

accordance with its programme of work, no later than at its thirty-third session.

39th meeting

25 September 2014

[Adopted without a vote.]